Six years ago today

I was at a Parents' Evening - c'est la vie...

when a boy bringing me a much needed cup of tea and a biscuit came to say that we had a new Pope and that it was Joseph Ratzinger. I didn't know much at at all about him apart from the fact that he seemed like one of the good guys, depite the continual negative reporting; did I ever really believe the mainstream media?

I remember being in Rome for WYD in 2000 and marvelling that everyone was so happy to be there, compared to England where enthusiasm for things Catholic was not something that you saw too often in public.

How things have changed.

In the September of that year I started commuting to work by train and so could read on the way to work, in due course reading my way through the, shall we say, more 'chatty' books of his oeuvre. Lucky me, is all I can say.

One day at a time

To fellow tootlers of the organ, as we embark on our musical marathons, I wish you a stress free Holy Week and that you have no moments of not having the right bit of music in front of you - oh no, I'm putting ideas into your heads and making you all nervous! :-)

Very fortunately this year, Easter is at the end of my three week holiday. (Yes, teachers, holidays, I know, believe me you wouldn't think that when you do Parents' Evenings and concerts back to back on top of a full timetable and have to get up at 6am to get to work, but I digress...)

Last year I think I was at school until lunch-time of Maundy Thursday.

This year there's just, hopefully, a bit more nervous energy and head space around to get it right.

Clare has some electronic aids for us. I'm feeling a little tempted...

Happy Birthday Holy Father

benedictxvi@vatican.va

Blogger invites

The 150 invitees are now named. Hope they have an exciting time.

Glass confessionals

This one is in Brasilia, but there is also one in Notre Dame in Paris. It is not back lit by stained glass, but does have the disadvantage of having a continual stream of tourists walking by.

Some people might say that is good in that it reminds people about the Sacrament of penance.

Other people, (ME, for example,) would rather run a mile than a) go to confession in such a transparent construction and b) have a (visual) audience.

The Priest sat tout seul.

Meantime, at the rue du bac there were lots of people in the queue....

The Compendium

After the the YouCat mess up, I did wonder why it is not possible to give pilgrims a cheapo paperback version of The Compendium to The Catechism.

That presumably has been checked and double checked for errors, vagueness and problems bewteen translations.

It just seems like another example where it is decided not to give people the whole picture. Dumbing down doesn't work.

Rue du Bac

It didn't quite look like this during my tripette to Paris. Not because the statues were veiled, because they weren't, but because it was permanently full of people. Lots and lots.